Soares to run for DA again; touts his anti-crime efforts

PHOTOGRAPHER: Justin Mason

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Albany County District Attorney David Soares has officially announced his run for another four years in office.

Soares and supporters gathered in Albany’s Academy Park amid gray skies and intermittent rain Monday morning. In running for a third term in office, Soares echoed some of the same sentiments he voiced when he first ran in 2004.

“I ran for [district attorney] as a candidate who believed that the system was broken and that it was time to engage the community by building partnerships and holding everyone to the same standard of justice,” he said in a statement. “Today, my office remains proactive in fighting crime and building hope in Albany County.”

Soares said he’s helped remove hundreds of illegal guns from the streets and jailed criminals through Enough, a community-based program he started after 10-year-old Katina Thomas was killed by a stray bullet. He also highlighted his expansion of prosecuting drunken driving offenses, creating a financial crimes unit to combat fraud, developing an initiative to use confiscated funds to purchase needed equipment for local police departments, and establishing a public integrity unit responsible for prosecuting elected officials who misuse their office for their own gain.

“Our work doesn’t stop there,” he said. “Every day, I am striving to make Albany County a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

A virtual unknown when he first ran for office in 2004, Soares was viewed as a long shot in the race for district attorney, but ultimately defeated incumbent Paul Clyne in the primary in a landslide and then handily bested Republican Roger Cusick in the general election. He also defeated Cusick in 2008. Now Soares is facing a primary challenge this year from defense attorney Lee Kindlon.

Soares recently drew an appeals court censure after he was found to have violated rules of professional conduct. Justices from the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in Rochester found Soares was “reckless and misleading” by issuing a news release indicating Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick’s decision to assign the prosecution of an illegal steroids ring to another district attorney had created a “dangerous loophole” for criminals.